


Turniphead in Love

by Pelydryn



Series: The Adventures of Elf-Boy and Turniphead [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Community: camelot_drabble, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kidfic, M/M, Modern Royalty, Temporary Character Death, Valentine's Day, Young Love, comic books, magic fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-01 12:39:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10190072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pelydryn/pseuds/Pelydryn
Summary: Merlin's first Valentine's Day at the palace was looking like a lot of fun... that is, until Sophia showed up.





	1. In which Arthur has a Valentine's surprise for Merlin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Harbinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harbinger/gifts).



> For harbinger, who is very encouraging.
> 
> This was originally written for Camelot_Drabble for the prompt "Valentine's Day card". The prompt was later changed, but the idea of making Valentine's cards is something Hunith-the-Governess would get behind, and the story begged to be written. It is a tag to _Elf-Boy and Turniphead Save Christmas_ and would probably make more sense if you had read that. But if you haven't and still want to give this a go, the boys are ages 14 and 12 at this point, so don't be surprised to see they're not all grown up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Camelot Drabble prompt "blind date".

January flew by. Merlin had always thought January the slowest month of the year, the doldrums of winter that stretched endlessly between the excitement of Christmas and the tantalizing lure of spring. At least February had Valentine's Day going for it, to add a little color to the ever-grey of winter. 

The reason for January's swift passage this year was because, for the first time ever, Merlin was receiving magic lessons. He spent each Monday evening in Gaius’ office, looking through spell-books. And if he mostly had to listen to long speeches about magical theory and almost never practice spells, no matter. He was thrilled with it all.

Except for the impromptu training Gaius had set up for him. 

Merlin had an alarming propensity to break things when startled or emotional. So Gaius had enlisted seemingly the whole palace staff to help him learn control. He had been given meditation exercises to do each day. They were designed to calm his magic and help him maintain focus. Merlin wasn't convinced but grudgingly did them anyway.

He was working on a plan to limit his exercises when a pillow came flying across the room and beaned him in the face. Merlin dropped the glass of milk he'd been holding, and it shattered on the floor of his mother's tiny kitchen. 

“Arthur!” he yelled. Milk ran down Merlin's shirt and pants. There were drops of milk and shards of glass everywhere. He looked up angrily to find the prince beaming at him.

“Good job, Merlin! You didn't break anything that time!” Arthur paused to assess the situation. “Well, your _magic_ didn't break anything. You, on the other hand….”

Merlin felt no compunction against using his magic to lift the milk-splattered pillow off the floor and send it careening back at Arthur's head. Arthur, the prat, managed to catch it easily. 

“Look at this mess! Couldn't you help me practice control when, maybe, I don't know….. I'm not holding something breakable?!” Merlin couldn't quite help the way his voice screeched at the end. 

“You know Gaius never specified, Mer. Just said to startle you at random moments, help you practice keeping your cool.”

Arthur had taken those instructions to heart. For two weeks now, just about anyone that Merlin saw might try to startle him. The palace guards shouted just as he walked past, Mum slammed doors, the king teased him gently about being arrested (just the king talking to him at all made him panic, despite the fact that the king had firmly proven to be on his side). But Arthur had been the worst, banging pots, launching objects at him, jumping out from behind doors. There were times that Merlin felt certain Arthur was trying to give him a heart attack. When Arthur pounced on a sleeping Merlin in the middle of the night, he knew that Arthur was going to send him to an early grave. Merlin's magic must have thought so too, because it threw Arthur across the room while Merlin was busy screaming his head off. But if Arthur crept back into Merlin's bed and huddled close for the rest of the night—claiming it was his duty to calm Merlin down since he was the one who'd wound him up—Merlin wasn't going to complain. 

Merlin muttered obscenities while looking for towels to clean the disaster that was their kitchen. Arthur merely laughed at him. “You know you're not supposed to cry over spilt milk. Besides, why can't you just make it all go ‘poof?’”

Merlin looked up from his task to glare at Arthur. “It’s not that easy to make thousands of shards go ‘poof.’” He wiggled two fingers on each hand to clearly mark the air quotes. “I'd be liable to disappear you along with the rest of it. Though now that I think of it, that wouldn't be such a bad idea…”

Arthur snorted, clearly not buying it for a second. In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, he grabbed a towel and started wiping up the drops of milk on the cabinet doors. 

After a moment, Merlin said, “We are making valentines this afternoon. Mum thought you might like to join us.”

Arthur had a dreamy expression in his eyes. “Can't. I'm meeting Sophia in the arboretum. I doubt she'd want a homemade card anyway. I imagine diamonds would be more to her taste.” He sighed, as if longing for diamonds were a most desirable trait. 

Merlin stared blankly at him. “Who?”

Arthur looked back, bemused. “Sophia? The girl I'm going to marry?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there. _You're getting married?_ ”

“I haven't asked her yet, since I just met her yesterday, but I'm sure she'll say yes.” Arthur had a dazed look on his face, nothing like his usual arrogant smirk at all. “After all, who wouldn't want to be a princess of Camelot?”

Merlin's heart started thumping. “How did you meet this girl?” 

Arthur smiled, but there was something not quite genuine about it. “You know that Father set Morgana up on a date with the prince of Tír-Mòr. He's hoping they'll get married one day.”

Merlin had known this. He'd come across Morgana stewing in Gaius’ offices, proclaiming that princesses should not be required to go on blind dates, not even for the sake of political unions. Gaius had nodded, then said it wouldn't kill her. 

Arthur continued, “The prince brought his sister, Sophia, along. She's perfect. I'm going to ask her to marry me!”

Merlin wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. “You can't ask her to marry you. You're only fourteen. Your father will never allow it!”

“Then we'll just have to run away.” Arthur looked decided. He laid the towel back on the counter and made for the door. 

“Have a nice life, Mer,” he called, then was gone. 

Merlin felt as if he had just been hit by a lorry. 

The milk-drenched pillow that Arthur had thrown at him burst in a spectacular explosion of feathers.


	2. In which Sophia has a Valentine's surprise for Arthur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for the Camelot_Drabble prompt "pick-up lines".

Feathers drifted down to settle directly over the few remaining puddles of milk. Of course they would. Nothing could ever be easy, could it? And certainly not where Arthur was concerned. 

What the hell had just happened? One instant things had been great (if you could consider getting smacked with a pillow and shattering a glass of milk great); the next, Arthur was planning his imminent marriage. Merlin's guts burned with fierce disappointment. He wasn't quite sure why. Arthur being in love with some stupid cow of a girl shouldn't matter to Merlin, surely. In fact, things would be much more peaceful. A big improvement all around. 

He felt curious, though, to see what kind of vixen could win Arthur's heart so quickly. Merlin decided it was a great time to practice for his future as a spy. He hurried to the arboretum as fast as possible without drawing unwanted attention. People sprinting through the palace corridors tended to make the security guards twitchy. 

The arboretum was a large, glass-enclosed space on the roof of the palace. Nestled amidst the trees and plants was Merlin's favourite feature: the swimming pool. He had loved it from the moment he saw it. Now, though, that love was tempered with residual fear. The glass walls had been replaced since the attack on Christmas Eve, and Merlin had visited a few times, but he was still accosted by bad memories. The experience of the arboretum turning from Christmas wonderland to nightmarish battleground was not an easy one to forget. 

Once inside, Merlin used a notice-me-not charm and stayed out of direct sight of the two lovebirds, who were holding hands and strolling through the trees, admiring the wide variety of plant life. Merlin didn't quite trust his magic to completely hide him, so he skulked around in some prickly bushes that tore at his clothing and scratched at his skin. He then tried a senses enhancement spell, to see and hear more clearly. He knew he wasn't that good at espionage, but maybe, if he kept practicing… But for now it was time to spy on that turniphead. Who was, in Merlin's humble opinion, making a gigantic fool of himself. 

Arthur ripped an orange hibiscus flower off its tree, where it had been happily minding its own business. He held the blossom out to Sophia, who wrinkled her nose. Merlin supposed she'd be happier if it were made of diamonds. 

“Until you arrived, this was the most beautiful thing here.” Merlin groaned at the line but had to admit that Sophia was tolerably pretty, with her long golden curls and lacy confection of a dress—though there was something about the way she pursed her lips that he found unpleasant. 

“Er, thank you,” she managed. She took the flower gingerly between two fingers, as if it might be infected with cooties. “I'll just… leave this over here, shall I?” She placed the flower on the pedestal of a small statue that sat under a bower of roses. Merlin chuckled when he realized it was a statue of Cupid, who somehow managed to look disapproving at both the offering and the scene that followed. 

Arthur grabbed Sophia by both hands. “My love. . . . Marry me and I can make you a princess.” He sounded stilted and unnatural. 

“I am already a princess.” Sophia's voice dripped with irritation, but Arthur was undeterred.

“Then I can make you a double princess. A princess times two! That's got to be twice as good, right?” Merlin groaned. As far as pickup lines went, Arthur’s really sucked. He would have had more luck if he just sounded like his normal pratty self. Though why his personality had shifted so dramatically, Merlin couldn't fathom.

Sophia rolled her eyes. “How about we just go for a swim?”

Arthur looked confused. “That's a great idea, but we didn't bring our bathing suits…”

Sophia batted her eyelashes, then looked through them coquettishly. “Why should that stop us?”

Arthur's jaw dropped. “But, my love! It would be most unseemly. If my father should catch us, he would forbid our marriage. We can't risk our eternal happiness on such a foolish whim.”

Sophia giggled, but Merlin could tell she wasn't amused. There was something in the glint of her eyes, the clench of her jaw. How Arthur couldn't see it, Merlin didn't understand. 

“Arthur, weren't you suggesting earlier that we could elope? What does it matter if anyone catches us?” 

“But don't you want to be on the throne of Camelot? You are so perfect, you deserve a kingdom. No, two kingdoms. You deserve all the kingdoms!”

Sophia gave an undignified snort, but Arthur didn't flinch. If he were in a cartoon, there would be bright red hearts floating in his eyes. 

“While I don't disagree with you, it is not earthly kingdoms that I seek. Come, let us swim.”

She grabbed at his hand and pulled him down the flower-lined path towards the crystal blue swimming pool. Merlin shuddered at the idea that the two of them would actually go skinny-dipping. Well, in Arthur's case, that would be not-so-skinny dipping. Merlin suddenly missed the prat intensely, which was strange because he was right there. But who else could he tease about eating too many sausages once Sophia had stolen him away?

It was, perhaps, because Merlin was feeling a bit sorry for himself that he didn't register the utter lack of security in the arboretum. And when Arthur balked before stepping into the pool and Sophia's eyes momentarily sparked red, Merlin figured she was wearing a ruby that had flashed in the light. 

It wasn't until a fully clothed Arthur submerged into the pool and didn't resurface that Merlin finally realised there might be a problem. Sophia stood over the place he had disappeared, chanting, eyes glowing red. 

Merlin leaped out of his bush without thinking, drawing Sophia's immediate attention. 

Oops. So much for the whole espionage business.


	3. In which Sophia has a Valentine's surprise for Merlin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Camelot Drabble prompt "heartbreak".
> 
> Warning: temporary character death

“Stop!” he yelled, unable to think of anything more creative under pressure. The spies on the telly always made confrontations with bad guys look so suave. _Great job, Merlin._

“Emrys!” Sophia hissed. “Come to save your lover boy? You are too late!” She stepped on Arthur's limp body, keeping him under the surface. 

“Too late for what?” Even as he asked, he shook his head, angry at himself. He should be blasting that girl with magic, not making idle chit chat with her.

“Too late to save his soul! I have offered it to the Sidhe elders in exchange for my passage to Avalon.” As she spoke, Merlin edged closer to the pool. Maybe asking that question wasn't that stupid if it meant she would keep talking and be distracted. “They require the soul of a mortal prince. And how could I resist the soul of the Once and Future King? Without his future, the human world will be like a child's playground for the Sidhe… They will crown me princess and the humans will grovel at my feet!”

It all sounded like nonsense to Merlin. He had read stories of the Sidhe and the Lake of Avalon in one of Gaius’ books, but they were supposedly myth, not reality. And what was this about a Once and Future King? 

And that bit about sacrificing a prince’s soul? 

Not going to happen. 

Whether he could stop Sophia was another question entirely. Arthur was still underwater, motionless. Merlin had to do something, _now_. 

He concentrated on what Gaius had taught him and cursed his lack of more practical lessons. He held up his right hand and concentrated on the magic. 

“Swilte, gold beorþ!”

Magic pulsed from his fingers. Yes! But when the energy reached Sophia, she waved it off with a laugh. 

“Nice try, sprout. Once a buffoon, always a buffoon, I see. But it makes my job easier.”

Well, now she was just being insulting. Not that she was wrong. 

Try again, try again… time was passing, he needed to hurry, he needed to get to Arthur now. Sophia was chanting again, and Merlin had to stop her. He decided to try a different spell.

_“Acwele!”_

She just waved it aside and continued chanting. Merlin yelled again, _“Swilte, gold beorþ! Acwele!”_

Nothing. 

Fine, he'd just have to do it the hard way. 

Merlin ran straight for Sophia. If he had to physically attack her, he would. Hadn't he had enough practice wrestling Arthur these past months? He should be able to take on a distracted _girl_. Arthur always made it sound like girls were wimps, anyway. Whenever he had Merlin pinned or in a headlock, he never failed to comment about what a girl Merlin was—as long as Morgana wasn't there, of course. Merlin secretly suspected she could take Arthur even without magic. 

He made it as far as the steps that led down into the pool. The water was so clear he could see Arthur floating listlessly, slightly tangled in Sophia's skirts. He looked dead. No, no, he couldn't be, there was still time, Merlin could revive him, he would…

Whoosh! 

Merlin flew out of the pool and hurtled through the air in a heavy spray of water. 

Thud!

He smashed into the trunk of an early-blooming fruit tree and fell to the ground. A downpour of water droplets mixed with pink flower petals dumped on his head. Merlin spluttered and gasped for breath, trying to orient himself. His left side throbbed from the impact, and the left side of his ribcage creaked ominously when he tried to sit up. He groaned, but there was no time to check for injuries. Arthur, Arthur, he had to get to Arthur. 

Merlin pushed himself up to standing, using the trunk as a support. He held out his hand, determined that this time he would get his magic to blast that girl straight to Avalon—and leave the turniphead right here where he belonged, exasperating Merlin on a daily basis. 

But then—

Something inside Merlin snapped. It was as if his heart had split into two and half of it erupted in an agonizing explosion of fire and ice and pain. 

Sophia laughed again, this time in a maniacal ecstasy. “It is done!” 

The pain in Merlin's chest died away, leaving an unbearable void, an emptiness that would grow and consume him until there was nothing left. 

No. Merlin would not allow that to happen. He would not let some power-hungry fairy princess wannabe take Arthur and destroy Merlin's life. _It was not going to happen_. 

His magic boiled inside him, frothing and thrashing. He screamed, and all that power hurled outwards in all directions. Merlin was out-of-control, frenzied in a way he never had been before. Gaius’ voice echoed in his head, “Focus, focus! You must focus!” 

Sophia. That's where he needed to focus. Merlin inhaled frantically, and then poured everything he had towards Sophia. There was a great shattering sound as the glass walls disintegrated into a hail storm of lethal shards, all aimed straight at Sophia. He could feel her magic repel them, but he pushed back, impelled by fury and desperation and heartbreak. Merlin felt as if his own soul was torn out from the very fibre of his being, launched in a furious assault, directing the overpowering force of his magic and sending it straight at the enemy. 

He felt the moment his magic triumphed. Sophia wrenched out a strangled scream, but Merlin cared not. The cloud of glass and magic pressed through her protective barrier. Right before it tore her to shreds, a brilliant light flashed through the arboretum. Sophia had disappeared. 

Thank all the gods!

But Arthur! What had become of Arthur? Merlin sprinted to the pool, where Arthur's body hung, lifeless. Merlin's magic pulled the prince from the water and set him on the tiled pool deck. Merlin knelt down, frantically checking for a pulse. 

Nothing. It was too late. 

Arthur was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four here until Wednesday:
> 
> https://camelot-drabble.livejournal.com/1287384.html


	4. In which Merlin has a Valentine's surprise for Arthur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Camelot Drabble prompt, "What would I do without you?"

“No, no, no, you turniphead! No way are you dead. No! Who else will help me practice magic? Who else will I steal comic books from?” 

Merlin grabbed Arthur's limp shoulders and shook them. No, no, that wouldn't help. He needed medical assistance, he needed professionals… But it was too late, he knew that it was, Arthur was too long gone for a doctor to revive. 

Tears streamed down Merlin's face. “Just stop this, prat, stop pretending! It's not funny anymore.” He sucked in desperate mouthfuls of air. “Stop making me try to lose control of my magic, Turniphead! Look! My magic is behaving! It's too sad to run wild! So stop trying to test me and wake the hell up!”

Nothing. 

Frigid air blew past Merlin, freezing his external body even as his heart iced over. Now that the glass walls had shattered (along with the rest of his life), he was essentially outdoors, alone with his dead friend. There were shouts in the distance, coming closer, but what did it matter? Nothing could matter, ever again. 

“What will I do without you? I— I just can't…” Merlin lowered his forehead to Arthur's. Security guards burst into the arboretum, but Merlin barely noticed them. All of his focus was on Arthur, his Turniphead, lying so uncharacteristically still, completely devoid of life. 

Arms grabbed at him, tried to pull him away, but Merlin kicked and fought against it. A vaguely familiar voice said, “He's dead, Merlin. There's nothing you can do.” 

No, no, no! Arthur could _not_ be dead. Merlin would not allow it. His magic pushed the person away from him, and Merlin crouched over Arthur's body. He placed both hands over Arthur's heart, and then _pushed_ … He pushed life back into it, frantically, desperately. Darkness crept up on him as he pushed. He paused, just a moment, just so he could do it right. He couldn't mess this up, not now; it was much too important. He could hear echoes of Gaius’ instructions: breathe, calm yourself, concentrate, don't be an idiot! Merlin inhaled deeply and let himself _feel_ everything around him. Arthur's limp, lifeless body; the vibrant life pulsing in the security guards; the strong and steady presence of the trees, shrubs, and flowers of the arboretum. 

He couldn't pour his own life into Arthur… he would pass out before he'd succeeded, and then who would finish the job? Arthur would still be dead, and that was _not_ what he wanted. He could pull energy from the people around him—as security guards, they were sworn to protect the prince unto death. But Merlin still wasn't sure that would be enough. He doubted his ability to transfer life force, and he might end up killing everyone in the room, including him and Arthur. 

But the trees…

The trees in the arboretum had been there for decades, slowly soaking up energy from the sun and turning it into fibers. Trunk, roots, leaves, blossoms… they were all stores of expansive amounts of trapped energy. Plants were less mobile than people, more rooted. It would be harder to coax the life out of them. But if he could… 

If he could, the power he could muster and funnel into Arthur would be immense. 

The closest tree to Merlin was a red cedar, all splintery bark and lacy evergreen needles. Merlin had loved the feel of that tree, the contrast of reddish brown wood with dark green foliage, intricate horizontal patterns splashed over the vertical lines of the trunk. 

The tree hummed with life, but it was more of a constant vibration than the pulsing fire of a human heart. Merlin listened to it, discerning the rhythm, inserting himself into the cadence. Once he was fully immersed in it, he tugged, and the vibrating energy followed him eagerly. _Follow me, follow me_ , Merlin whispered to the soul of the tree. _I have an important job for you, a wonderful new home, a great king who needs you._

Arthur wasn't yet a king, only a spoiled prat of a prince, but even as he said the words, Merlin knew they were right. Arthur would be a great king, perhaps even this Once and Future King that Sophia had mentioned. If only he would live. 

_Come, tree, come help your king_. Merlin called and pulled, encouraged and enticed, and the life of the tree flowed through Merlin and into Arthur. But it was not enough, not nearly enough. Once that tree was drained, he tapped into the next, a small Japanese maple with tangled branches and brilliant red leaves. It was easier for Merlin to slide into the rhythm of this tree. It was almost as if the plant were ready for him and eager to be of help. 

After that, he went through the rest of the trees and bushes, one by one, asking and coaxing, begging and pleading, summoning the energy and pouring it all into Arthur. 

And still Arthur did not breathe. 

Merlin would not panic, would not give up. He moved on to the flowers, the ferns, the ornamental grasses… every last bit of life that he could find he drained. He thought Arthur might be growing warmer, but still there was no heartbeat. Merlin could feel his desperation growing along with his exhaustion. He had already fought off Sophia, and now all this… 

His vision was dimming again. Time was growing short. He would have to finish this, _now_. Merlin took a deep breath, and then sucked at everything living that he could reach. He pulled from the guards, he pulled from the insects that made homes in the plants, he pulled from the birds and other critters that lived on the palace roof. 

But most of all he poured his own energy into Arthur, his own heart and soul. His vision went entirely black and his ears were filled with static, but he kept up the stream of energy. Someone inhaled deeply, and it took Merlin a moment to realise it wasn't him. There was coughing and spluttering. _Good. The turniphead is awake. I can die victorious._

Just as darkness chased away the last of his conscious thoughts, he heard someone mutter, “You idiot. What would I do without you?”


	5. In which Uther has a Valentine's surprise for Merlin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Camelot Drabble prompt, "Loving the monsters always ends badly for the human. It's a rule."
> 
> There are references to the first story in the series, so if something like “Happy fifth day of Valentine's-mas, Elf-Boy!” doesn't make sense, it's referring to that story. But it should all still be understandable, over all!

“Happy fifth day of Valentine's-mas, Elf-Boy!”

Merlin grumbled and turned over to sleep more. 

“Let's have you, lazy daisy!”

Merlin pulled the blankets over his head and tried to block out the annoying voice. 

“Up and at ‘em! Don't make me tickle you awake!”

Someone pulled the blankets off, letting cold air rush in. Merlin tried to bury his head under the pillow, but it abruptly disappeared. There was a short pause, and then _bam_! The pillow whacked right into the back of his head. 

“Arghle!” Merlin spluttered, sitting up and grabbing at the first thing he could reach. It was Kilgharrah, his stuffed dragon. Whispering apologies, he launched it at Arthur's head—because of course it was Arthur. Who else could be such a prat?

Arthur caught the dragon ridiculously easily, like always. “I'd congratulate you on not losing control of your magic, but after what you did in the arboretum, Gaius said he expected it.”

What Merlin did? What did he do? He frowned, trying to wade through the crazy dreams that he'd been having—something about evil girls. (Weren't all girls evil, at least a little bit? They were certainly scary!) And… trees? 

“Get up! It's been a week. That's extreme, even by your standards.”

A week? 

“Stop drooling and get up, or Gaius will make you drink some foul-tasting concoction. I'm doing you a favour. You can thank me later.”

The threat of one of Gaius’ brews got Merlin out of bed. He wobbled embarrassingly, and Arthur offered him an arm to lean on. Merlin felt like a baby deer, but for once Arthur didn't mock him for it. 

“Good, good, Gaius is waiting in the sitting room.”

When they entered the room, it was not just Gaius. His mum was there with Morgana and Gwen, but the figure that caught his attention was King Uther. He was chatting amiably with the others and drinking tea. Even so, the sight of him caused Merlin's pulse to race. 

When Uther saw him, he stopped what he was saying mid-sentence. Oh dear. That was never a good sign. 

“So here's the boy who destroyed my arboretum. _Again._ ”

Sudden memories flooded into Merlin’s head… memories of broken glass, dying trees… What had he _done_?

His knees grew even more wobbly, and Arthur had to haul him up with an arm around his middle or he would fall over. 

“Really, Father?” Arthur asked. “I thought we had decided we didn't need to scare the crap out of him anymore.”

Uther laughed jovially. Then he smiled, and the sight calmed Merlin's raging heartbeat. 

“But it's so much fun!” Like father, like son, Merlin thought. ”And look! He didn't lose control of his magic at all. Well done, boy.” Uther winked at him, and Merlin knew that whatever was happening, he wasn't in trouble.

His mother held her arms out, and Merlin wobbled over to sit with her. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “I’m so proud of you, my boy. You saved Arthur—the king is ecstatic.”

He had? Then those memories of sucking the life out of the plants like a vegetarian vampire had been true? Gulp. The king certainly wouldn't be ecstatic about that. 

“Hungry?” Gaius asked him. 

“Very!”

A servant pressed a cup of tea into his hands. A table had been laid with afternoon tea. Merlin helped himself to many scones and extra helpings of cake. Mum rolled her eyes but didn't stop him. 

Afterwards, Arthur placed a stack of envelopes in Merlin's lap. “What are these?” Merlin asked, perplexed. 

“Can't have a fifth day of Valentine's-mas tea party without valentines!” Arthur said with a smirk. 

“What on earth are you talking about?” 

“Since you slept through Valentine's Day, we've had to make do. You really should stop sleeping through all the holidays, Mer. You'll miss out on a lot of fun that way.”

The turniphead had a point. 

“Well, open them already!”

So Merlin did. The first was a standard palace envelope. Inside was a bill for £12.3 million for “total destruction of all plant life within two blocks of the palace and the complete annihilation of the arboretum glass”.

It felt like being electrocuted. The shock of reading that number—and knowing he could never pay it—was like a physical blow. 

“Look! No loss of control at all!” Uther said, happily. “You were right, Gaius. He really came into his power!”

Merlin barely heard what they said; he could only stare at the paper and panic. 

“My dad's just messing with you. Trying to test your magical control. Open the next one, idiot,” Arthur said fondly. Merlin's hands shook, but he did as told. The second contained stiff parchment covered in calligraphy. It read, “For services to the Crown, Merlin Emrys is hereby awarded a medal of honour and the sum total of £20 million.” There was more, but he couldn't read it. His mum was hugging him and Gaius was patting him on the back and Morgana and Gwen were squealing and all was chaos.

Eventually things calmed down, and Arthur hissed at him to open the next envelope. Merlin did, but with some trepidation after the first two. Inside this one was a card that had clearly been homemade. The front contained a hand drawn comic of a wizard blasting a faerie in a lake. Nearby a prince was submerged underwater. Underneath was printed neatly a quotation from one of Arthur's favorite books, “Loving the monsters always ends badly for the human. It's a rule.” Inside the card it merely said, “Thank you.”

“You like it?” Arthur asked. “I thought it would work as the plot of our next comic book.”

Merlin stared at him. “I thought homemade cards weren't your thing?”

Arthur laughed and stuck his arm around Merlin's shoulders. “I never said that! I said they weren't Sophia's thing. She's the faerie, by the way. Gaius said that's what she was. Apparently she zapped me with a love spell—”

“Not that she needed to, pretty as she was,” Merlin muttered. 

“—and tried to barter my soul into her reacceptance among the Sidhe. But you stopped her! Sounds like a great comic to me!”

Merlin’s heart was glowing. Arthur had _made_ him a valentine. And they were going to keep writing their comics together. So perhaps he had been jealous of a faerie and completely slept through the actual day. This was still the best Valentine's Day ever!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It maybe ended a little fast, as I was trying to get to the end in a thousand words for Camelot Drabble. Hopefully it's not too disappointing. 
> 
> There will probably be a copy of Arthur's card included in another chapter, but I'm marking this story as complete because the words are done. 
> 
> Hmm... I wonder if the boys will need to have another adventure for Easter?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
